Sports

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Sri Lankan lawyer and cricket enthusiast Senaka Weeraratna is widely recognized as the inventor of the “Player Referral” concept, which is the foundational principle of cricket’s modern Decision Review System (DRS). Despite his undeniable contribution, he has not received official recognition from the International Cricket Council (ICC). 

The invention and struggle for recognition

• The initial idea: Weeraratna first proposed the Player Referral system in a letter to the editor of The Australian newspaper on March 25, 1997. His argument was that if technology could reveal an umpire’s error to viewers, that same technology should be used to correct the mistake.
• A vision ahead of its time: Weeraratna’s proposal included four key elements that are now integral to the modern DRS:
  • Players could challenge an on-field umpire’s decision.
  • The appeal would be made through the team captain or the dismissed batsman.
  • A third umpire would review the decision using video playback.
  • The number of reviews per innings would be limited to prevent delays.
• International adoption, but no credit: The ICC officially adopted the Player Referral concept in 2006 and introduced the DRS in Test cricket in 2008. The first official use was during a Test match between New Zealand and Pakistan on November 24, 2009. However, unlike the Duckworth-Lewis method, the ICC has never formally credited an inventor for the DRS.
• ICC’s argument and Weeraratna’s response: The ICC has used legalistic arguments to deny Weeraratna credit, suggesting his idea was in the public domain and that his “intellectual property” had been waived by publishing his writings in newspapers. Weeraratna has pushed back against this stance, arguing that it is a denial of moral and economic copyright and that the ICC has failed to name any other individual within its ranks who demonstrably authored the concept.
• Ongoing campaign: For years, Weeraratna and his supporters have campaigned for official acknowledgement from the ICC and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). His case is widely known among cricket enthusiasts and journalists, but the official recognition has been slow to materialize. 

Wider recognition and impact

• Changed the game: Weeraratna’s concept has had a revolutionary impact, fundamentally changing how cricket is played by improving decision-making accuracy and reducing the number of incorrect calls.
• Influenced other sports: The Player Referral idea also influenced other sports, like tennis and football, to adopt similar review technologies.
• “The father of DRS”: Figures like journalist Varsha Thakur and others in the cricketing world have publicly referred to Weeraratna as the “father of DRS”. 

Ultimately, while Senaka Weeraratna’s contribution is widely acknowledged by commentators and fans, the world recognition sought by his supporters, in the form of official credit from the ICC, has remained elusive.